matters. they're not talking publicly, the commissioners that, is, but this case, but this is what we do know. this meeting is being called to discuss james qan's tab in a gentlemen's club in houston where he was attending a conference four years ago. he spent $4500 treating about a dozen shipping executives to drinks and dinner at treasures club. that is a well known strip club in houston. the representation hasn't always been stellar, probably making this story more controversial. there have been police raids at the club in the past over prostitution, drugs and sexual assaults. officials didn't know about this until recently because qan submitted a bill saying the party was held at d houston incorporated, a corporate name. the court has been having earth issue was expense accounts over the years. here is a spokesman for the court. >> the port of oakland has

been taking action to strengthen our expense reimbursement to prevent potential misuse of port funds. this has come to our attention that dates back four years, we're taking this seriously. >> we're told by the commission secretary do not expect a decision from the closed session tonight. but then again, you never know what happens. by the way qan is not here because he is in china at another conference. so... this could be a late night for the commissioners and reporters covering this hearing but we'll bring you latest. it could last four to five hours, we're told. vic lee abc 7 news. >> thank you very much. late today the contra costa county sheriff's department identified two victims of a double homicide. they're having a difficult time solving. they're bonl san francisco residents. they were both shot yesterday evening on buchanan road near

pittsburgh-antioch border, officers found two bleeding open the roadway. one died within minutes. investigators don't have expects or a motive for the shooting. >> and we now know the name of the murder suspect police were looking for when storming into a home this afternoon. that was s.w.a.t. officers using a nash bang device less than two hours ago. they fwheent a house on 21st street in west oakland. officer dz not find anyone inside of the home. investigators looking for this man. a 27-year-old wanted in a homicide that took place on september 6th. police want to hear from you if you have seen this man. >> an important new sign tonight that the bay area economy sim proving. the median price of houses sold in nine-county area last month rose to $429,000, up 4.6% from august and 17.5%

from last year. contra costa county numbers were strong, up 27%. san francisco prices up 21 srs. abc 7 news has our story from oakland. >> the tangled web that is the bay area real estate market sun winding. for those who have been waiting for home prices to inch back up. with median home price now topping $379,000, this realtor says the market is finally picking up. especially for sellers this is very exciting for jerls after many years of them watching their property values go down. >> prices increased because inventory is so low. desirable properties sell quickly. interest rates remain low. >> that is why there is so much competition now. >> you can buy a house for 20%

less than you could have with the price rise a few years ago. it takes about 30% less income to qualify for that property now as before. >> not only higher price goods for those in the bay area trying to sell homes they're good for those trying to refinance. >> my appraisal came in today. >> tori bought his home three years ago. he's looking to refinance was surprised with his latest appraisal it's up about 27% since i brought the house and 21% since the last refi only 12 months ago. >> much of the increase is attributed to a change in the mix of homes being sold. fewer foreclosures and many more at the high end. in oakland abc 7 news. >> right now we have to check in on the giants game underway now in san francisco. they're playing game two of a championship series against

cardinals. now, the score is 1-1 at the top of the third inning. abc 7 news is there and wayne, giants fans hoping they're going to even things up tonight. >> thaer. you know the giants can break that word torture? i have a new definition, standing outside of the ballpark, hearing stuff going on in there. we're not alone within ear shot. there are a lot of fans around here who couldn't get in and just came to watch the game. they heard the national anthem tonight. they heard the grateful dead singing along with tim flannery. they did a great job, wette wetter -- better than the day began. if baseball scores can affect weather let records show there was a low fog this morning and blue skies. >> i think our picture is going to be successful. >> they like to torture us. >> the energy leading to game two of the series, some fan

arriving as early as 10:00 a.m. and there are a couple getting lucky. >> about 200 she said. it was time for us to act fast. and we pulled the trigger. >> they were on vacation from chicago found themselves in the prit rite place. they. >> we're wondering why. it's like oh this, just came up. what do you mean? you know? >> giants explain sometimes players are major league baseball return tickets they don't need. it's a simple as that. by 3:00 p.m. giants shrugging through batting practice and first fans filed in among them, joe riviera, who waited decades for a series win in 2010. is he content? >> it made you want another one, then, another one and another one. i haven't got too much more to go. another would be great. >> so you know that one about winning one for the gipper? win it for joe riviera.

season ticket holder 12 years. please, orange and plaque black. wayne freedman abc 7 news. >> for anyone at this point, just win it. let's switch to another major sort. -- sport. city leaders expect to hear from the national football league about whether the city is in the running to host super bowl. the game played in santa clara. seems like san francisco would get much of the glowery. we're live in santa clara with the story. hi, carolyn. >> this stadium will be ready to roll by 2014. that means that it would meet the nfl requirement that a team play two seasons before it's eligible for a super bowl. sanlta clara building stadium. trying to persuade nfl to award a super bowl in 2016 or

17. >> we would like to make this possibility very unique for the city and right now where he have to get the nod from the nfl first. >> just like the team, san francisco will be competing against other nfl franchises. because the league likes shiny new stadiums, this venue might be on the short list. as the host city, san francisco's hotels, restaurants and tourist hot spots would be filled. >> we know in cities like new orleans and new york, others who have hosted super bowls, they mean something in between 300 to $500 million in economic impacts for the region. >> so a san francisco becomes host city, where does that leave santa clara? >> you come to play. >> the mayor has been in talks with his san francisco counter

part about the super bowl bid and says it's a collaboration that will pay off for his city as well. >> remember, when it last came to san francisco in the 80s? it played stanford, keeping things into perspective. this is going to be a bay area thing he says santa clara will be the epicenter, 49ers ceo made it clear san francisco is the team's home. >> that is where nine yea year -- niners came from and everything. >> i don't care about the glory. that doesn't bother me. the money does. spend it down here. >> well, if san francisco is awarded 2016 super bowl that would be significant. that would be super bowl 50. live in santa clara, abc 7 news. >> yes, it would. abc 7 will carry the game live on thursday.

sheer our thursday line up for you at 4:00 we'll have an hour long pregame show featuring legends jerry rice and brent jones. game time 5:00. niners host seattle seahawks followed by after the game where we'll give you give away $49,000 to someone who likes us on our facebook page. >> giants, 49ers and now, golden state warriors attracting attention. the team unveiled a design of their new arena on the san francisco water front. it will go up in what is now parking lot on piers 30 and 32. they place that had on the sidewalk so they can preserve the views of the bay. there is the building going to have a glass exterior. warriors plan to be playing by five years. >> still to come, here on abc 7 news a surprise development

in san bruno pipeline exprogs. a international heavy weight called in to negotiate a settlement with pg&e. >> in sacramento, 20 state workers have been fired for smuggling cell phones into state prisons. a report says more shoved lose their jobs. >> a man with a backpack here is the latest nobel prize winner. a stanford professor known for economic match making. >> always clear we await arrival of

the state public utilities commission named a man with an international reputations a peacemaker to settle talks over the san bruno pipeline explosion. he won the nobel peace prize for bokering a peace treaty in northern ireland. he's been appointed to mediate with pg&e and will oversee the talks between the utility, public utilities commission, city of san bruno, san francisco and turn, a local consumer group them have not been able to reach an agreement on how much pg&e should pay for negligence and whether stockholders or ratepayers should foot the bill. and saying everyone should have had a role in picking a mediator. >> ross mirk ream gee back on the job after a battle to keep his job. he sat behind his desk today, eager to move forward, he says. a new year's eve domestic violence incident cost the sheriff his job until the board reinstated him last

week. >> i'll continue to eat as much humble pie one, you know that i want to eat. and continue to demonstrate i'll be the sheriff people elected me to be. >> the first full day of work comes on the same day supervisors introduced domestic violence legislation in the city. the supervisor called it a coincidence. >> if there weren't a major case like the one heard last tuesday, i ti i would be strongly supporting the womens' organizations and groups to strengthen our policis.. >> to that end the sheriff insists he wants to be part of the solution. but that will depend on how well he can mend fences at city hall. >> second time in two weeks a nobel prize awarded to a stanford professor this, morning a nobel for economics and went to alvin roth, work focuses on finding compatible matches on education and

medicine. >> this is unexpected. we didn't reach the phone in time but they called back. >> news of the middle of the night call led to a standing ovation from colleagues and a champagne toast from students. professor roth hailed for his work developing mathematical algoridge yips to make choices easier. jufts as google uses algorhythms dr. roth's helped match live kidney don dwrorz patients. >> if you're incompatible you can't give a patient a kidney but you can give to it someone else's patient z your patient could get a kidney from their donor that. is an exchange. >> dr. mark melsher brought it to stanford medical center four years ago, crediting dr. roth with increasing the number of patients that kind

compatible donors.. >> thousands of patients have been given transplants using this. and once they get transplanted with a living donor which is a high quality transplant they come off the deceased donor list. he claims he has no plans how to spend $1.2 million prize he will share with co-winner lloyd shaply, a retired ucla economist. his stanford colleagues praise him for developing a system touching real lives. >> amazing body of work that is respected by economists for the ways that economic theory can be brought to bear on real world problems. >> you might be interested in this statistic, stanford beats cal in the number of nobel prize winners. stanford, 28, cal, 22. at stanford, david louie abc 7 news. >> there is a big game week here. and perfect weather. >> that is right z spencer going to tell us about it.

>> is going to be in san francisco, big game is going to be played trchl there is a live view looking at at and t park which is where giants are taking on cardinals right now. it's mild conditions at the park now. lovely baseball weather. it's clear. we've got temperatures into 60s around san francisco now. much of the bay area is experiencing mild to warm conditions. it's going to be a lovely evening for baseball. very summer like by mid week. i'm going to give you a look at live doppler 7 hd. we've got fog approaching the coastline but hasn't made its way to the coast. it will into rate night hours we'll push along the coast. clear skies tonight and mild conditions. temperatures into low 80s inland spots. 80s in fairfield.

santa rosa 78. 74 oakland. 64 here in san francisco. these are the forecast features. fog return together coast tonight. warm to hot wednesday and thursday. high temperatures breaking 09 degree mark. satellite shows an expanding ridge of high pressure. high pressure will continue to dominate starting athe company tonight another center of high pressure building north over the next day or two. by wednesday morning we'll look at a low that will warm us up. there is a fire risk as well. low temperatures with fog pushing beyond the coast tonight. lows on the mild side. a mild overnight period. tomorrow another warm day. 80s in san jose and cupertino.

peninsula, mid to upper 70s. 78 redwood city. on the coast mid to upper 60s on half moon bay. downtown san francisco a high of 73. north bay highs into low to mid 08s. east bay look for highs of 78 in oakland. 79 fremont. inland east bay mid to upper 60s. monterey bay upper 70s to low 80s near the bay. mid-80s inland. here is the accu-weather forecast. i promised hot. it's going to be hot. wednesday, thursday, highs into low 90s. mid-70s on the coast. thursday will be warm for football. i don't think that is going to get in the way of niners performance. >> i hope not. >> thank you.

>> well, won't you like to know if your car was about to be towed away?

a painful round of cost cutting in silicon valley. bloomberg reports micro devices is planning on laying off 10% to 20% of the world wide work force because of weak demand for computer hip championships. bloomberg says pay pal will cut as misdemeanor m as 400 jobs. but they have been told of plans to simplify the way pay pal rates. wall street rebouned today. the dow climbed 95 points. citi group rose after reporting a big surge in earnings. kindel users may be getting a credit next year part of a price fix be settlement. you'll get from 30 cents to $1.30 off for e books purchased. >> barbara lee is warning the

presidential election will have a major impact on the future of food banks including in her home district. it began distributing groceries from the first delivery from the agriculture department since the end of july. saying mitt romney's budget would cut another $15 kbrinl from already struggling nutrition assistance programs. >> some are waging war on the poor. the working poor. low income people. people just struggling to get by until we create jobs. 130,000 people rely on the pantries and food kitchens. >> still tied in the fourth inning. we're hanging in there. >> but first a new scandal in the california prison system. two dozen workers in big

trouble for smuggling cell phones to inmates. >> open enrollment for health care benefits. which plan right for you and your family? taking a look at that question as abc 7 news at 6:00 continues. stay with us.

late today secretary of state hillary clinton took responsible for a security lapse in libya on september 11th. four american diplomats were killed including a bay area man, ambassador chris stevens when a group attacked the u.s. consulate in benghazi. secretary clinton saying security decisions were her responsibility. the group claiming responsibility for the attack may be connected to al qaed yachl the white house launched drones to track them down. ambassador stevens will be honor md a memorial starting tomorrow at 4:30 at san francisco city hall. >> a new california law makes it a crime to smuggle cell phones into state prisons.

it's been a big problem. nannette miranda reports 20 state workers have a lot of their jobs this year. >> and a new report from california prison says 20 workers resigned or were fired for smuggling illegal cell phones into state prison. some did it for love. >> sometimes, some do develop an inappropriate relationship with inmates. cell phones are introduce that had way to keep in contact with that inmate when not at prison. >> the report compiled noted cases were an inmate was caught with nude photos sent to him by a female guard and an office worker snuck in a phone to one inmate suspected of fathering her child. the former workers charged with jail time.

inmates lose 90 days of good time credit. >> there are tens of thousands of employees and within those tens of thousands there are going to be a few bad apples.. >> correction s confiscated 15,000 cell phones and with the law laws in effect there will be 12,000 this year and a report suggests more workers should lose their jobs but it's nearly impossible to fire them given as shoddy work by lawyers accusing prison lawyers of incomplete legal paper work, and the attorney falling asleep during interviews. the goal of stopping the flow of cell phones is to prevent gang members and others from more crimes behind bars. >> it translates into problems on the streets in the form of increased drug activity, hits being called out and continuing with other criminal activities. >> the corrections department disagrees with the report's

assessment of lawyers but the smuggled cell phone problem won be an issue in three years because state will be phasing in this month technology blocking signals from device that's aren't registered at the front office n sacramento abc 7 news. >> and the president and opponent prepping for a debate locked down today nchl their place, their wives on the campaign trail. michelle obama told the crowd every vote counts. >> this auditorium can swing a precinct for barack obama if we win, we'll win the state and if we win ohio we'll be well on our way to put barack obama back in the white house for four more years. >> romney talked about the debate today told a crowd in pennsylvania her husband thrives in those conditions.

>> no negative ads. no media interpretation. it was just mitt. guess what? they heard with their ee ears and saw with their iz. what did they see? a man ready and prepared to lead this country. >> now, the debate is tomorrow night from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. abc news will carry it live, you can see it here on abc 7. >> well, there are new reforms kicking in that could change open enrollment strategy signing up for benefits at work its that time of the year of course. michael finney is here with the story. >> this is important. almost no one knows about this. you're getting in early. just days ago one reforms kicked in that will make your open enrollment period easier to deal with if, if, you know what to ask for. >> this is the time of the year american families choose

their health insurance plans. it's called open enrollment. the period set aside to choose among plans. down in the financial district they're gearing up. >> this could be difficult. and yes. >> so there, have you to plan ahead at this point in time. >> but... how do you find the right plan for you? >> there is nothing simple about health insurance. >> consumer unions has been doing the work of helping implement the health care reform. she says this new forum is going make your insurance pick easier. >> the health reform law requires that insurers whether from a small or large employer from the market give you a simple sum marie of benefits. >> this lays out what is paid for, what is not.

every form is the same. there no more reading fine print, then guessing. the forms give examples here, managing type two diabetes, average amount owd? $5400. the plan pays $3520 leaving the patient a 1 l $80 bill. but just because it's filled out by a company doesn't mean you're getting a good poll sigh we believe there is going to be probably misrepresentations going on by some less scrupulous players so people have to be on the lookout for junk insurance you don't get snuck a plan that is not meaningful. poor coverage can be worse than none. you can waste money. >> this brings us back to the district worker asks their upcoming decisions. the new health reform laws reflect that. do you know know that? >> no. >> they have a new form so you

can compare all of the programs. >> if they don't give you the form ask for it. >> we will. >> and you should, too those forms mandated by law f you don't get them, you let me know. i've posted a review of every health insurance company in america and a new consumer union guide to help reforms this, will help you when dealing with open enrollment. >> it is still important to your financial security, and everything else. >> it's so much work. i understand why people put it off. just bear down. >> coming up next, tow truck text alerts. >> an early

a street car passenger rushed to the hospital following an accident just over an hour ago. the car collided with a muni trolley. two children in this car escaped unharmed. >> if you've found a nasty note on your car you're going to want to watch this report. >> a group of folks come up with a more civilized way to tell neighbors about their imperfect parking jobs and it seems to be catching on. >> it's a good idea. jonathan bloom expain plain what's this is about. >> narrow streets of san francisco. drivers park bumper to bumper

dodging street cleaning signs blue, red and yellow zones.. >> have you to have a sense of humor to own a car in this town? >> why? >> because it's a challenge to drive, park ask keep your cool. >> when neighbors lose their cool amy says she starts finding nasty notes on her windshield. >> next time you park make sure you're not blocking my wife i.of droofway. >> were you blocking the driveway? >> i was not. any idiot could have gotten out of the garage. >> the intersnet littered with pictures of passive aggressive parking notes. you can argue these are the nice neighbors. not nice ones might call parking patrol. >> people have one of these, a sign you puts up that says oh please don't tell on me, just give knee a call. >> there is a sticker next to the plate. if you walk down, you'll see dozens of cars now sporting this tiny loggo for curve text. >> it indicates to their neighbors that they have part of the curb text network.

>> they're curve textable. >> right. >> you can send a short anonymous message to the owner. it's a free service created by enterprising neighbors.. >> we're just trying to solve that prob le. how to communicate with someone you don't know? you know the car is there. you want to reach them. >> we flif apps and smart phones it's old fashioned there. is no app. you interact by sending text messages. >> we're proud to say just a weeg ago the first neighbor to neighbor curve text was sent. someone letting someone know their car about to get ticketed. >> saying 300 people registered they're giving away stickers hoping neighbors will look out for each other instead of writing nasty notes. >> well, just ahead there is good news for the environment. >> a remarkable return of river otters to

well, tonight we have good news about the environment in a cute package. river otters almost vanished from the bay area. now they're making a come back. otters coming up from sutro baths to beyond antioch but there is a lot we don't know about them. tonight scientists look for answers. 7:00 a.m. in the marin headlands. first time for a family swim. this is rodeo lagoon. >> so far, i've seen otter every time i've been out here. >> these are river otter that's need fresh watter to survive. they go in salt water occasionally but don't confuse them with their cousin sea otters. river otters used to live in just about every creek in the bay area. >> because of hunting and but also because a lot of the water sheds were in disrepair,

so much pollution. >> this map shows the known otter territory in 1995. notice almost no otters in the bay area. otters are back. >> all of the otters we can see look health healthy and well faed fed amegan helped launch the ecology project. >> turb turns out there is almost nothing known about populations.. >> megan and others known as otter spotters are combing the bay area looking for evidence. >> there is a political tail going in there. >> they take photos and videos. and there is a map showing 150 otters spotted around the bay area in the last year. the otter ecology project set up motion activated cameras to catch otters in action when people are not around during the day and night. river otters spent quite a bit

of time on land. they're social and like to play. but they're not always good at sharing. one volunteer caught this video of an otter stealing a fish. a word of caution they're fierce with a strong bite. you should not get too close to them. people who do this otter stalking get hooked on it. >> i can't help it. they're really cool. >> this researcher with uc berkeley and hill very an otter keeper and they get paid to take care of otters in captivity they choose to spend free time searching for wild otters. >> this is what i've been wanting to do and dinot have means or ability to do it on on my own. >> and they search for clues indicating how animals use their habitat.

they have big red feet. >> and you can find out where they can go. you can see a perfect little animal trail going up there. >> if you're able to be an animal and scoot through this hole and up the hill you can find a whole area of trails like this. >> there are team that's can figure out whether otters are among them by looking for, well, otter poop. >> there is skat. >> just pick it up. >> the team collects otter poop for nal sis and they document it and take photos. there aname. >> pooperazzi. >> volunteers hope this will encourage people to protect them and their fragile habitat. >> it's fun and important. the project is looking for more otter spotters. there is a web site with great photos and videos and a

presentation coming up next month. and you can find out bit all under see it on tv. >> otter spotter. >> how are you not to be a part of that sth. >> we'll take a look at weather. here is a forecast. sunny skies and a warming trend continues. high temperatures mid-80s inland. upper 70s around the bay. lovely day tomorrow, here is the accu-weather forecast. we'll have hot weather inland. mid-70s on the coast. thursday is a big day. niners take on seahawks. n.just three days, thursday, abc 7 will give away 49,000ses today a lucky fan. there is still time to enter. click the button that says win

$49,000. you can fill in your information online for a chance to win $49,000. if you win, one of you will win. >> someone has to win. >> thursday night. >> giants taken a big lead at the park in san francisco. >> very good news. >> yes. trying to even the

join me tonight at 9:00, coming up then, hours long and pay can't begin to match the need. at 9:00 hundreds of job openings in the east bay. we'll have that story. then at 11:00 growing older feeling younger how 70 has become the new 30 in some cultures. >> 49ers playing and we're carrying that became. >> that is right. there is a lot to talk about. and not all of it is good. 49ers got blasted by giants yesterday leading to yet another round of questions about alex smith and dreaded game manager label. handing the niners a loss

26-3. smith's shaky outing. that led to questions about whether smith should be starting at quarterback there is no doubt in jim harbaugh's mind, however. >> we have been using this as an added weapon. we feel like we're getting plenty of everything. >> and you goat a point where it's this. you know? it's going to make a break point there. you know? you've got to force ask throw balls. tough to figure out engage that. and raiders weren't expected to do much in atlanta. almost upsetting the only undefeated team in the league. raiders tied the game up with just 40 seconds left. turns out that is too much time. there is a 55 yarder leaving

raiders at one and four. >> i think we've proved that we're capable of playing with the best teams in this league. what we've got to do is to finish and fin those games. and that is what our job is this, is a production business. it's about winning and losing. we weren't able to get it done yesterday. >> is this the end? there is lewis covering a full tear in hoiz right arm. the 37-year-old led the ravens with 14 tackles in the game. there is a celebration dual. there is a seeing rogers with an angry run to the end zone that. is my move right there. this was called back.

and they had a good laugh about it. >> i just said you've got your own move. you don't want to be messing with mine. mine made myself look silly after doing a double check only to have it called back on a holding call. >> mine! >> this is big week game stanford versus cal and cardinals bemoaning the ending of their loss in overtime on 4th down. the ball crosses a goal line right there. nobody heard the whistle. it was game over. irish win 20-13. coach says well, no looking back. >> we've got a biggest rival and this is going to be exciting for us and also we

get a chance about a conference. that week is interesting we take a break and win, lose, draw we've got to get back to try to make hay. >> baseball they're in the 5th inning and giants leading. a big blow with bases loaded in the 4th. highlights and reaction at 9:00 and 11:00. >> hoping for the best. >> thank you. >> hopefully. >> st. louis for three. >> excellent. >> that is this edition of abc 7 news. >> from the entire abc 7 news team, thanks for joining us tonight. >> we appreciate your time. see you at 9:00 and 11:00.

this is "jeopardy!" introducing today's contestants -- a camp counselor and law student from mclean, virginia... ...a resident physician in internal medicine ...and our returning champion, a history professor from milan, michigan... [ applause ]